Chapter 24: Prison Exorcism!? And You’re getting Tofu?!

Kenji and Sakura stood at the entrance of a deserted prison, where it was rumored that a grade 1 Exile soul roamed. Forty-five prisoners had died in a single night, their faces were distorted and bodies crushed beyond recognition.

This horrific event led the local government to evacuate the remaining survivors. They still couldn’t guess who had done it, but this guys knew. Citizens within a 700 meter – radius had also been evacuated.

“I’m really hungry; I hope we can get this over with quickly. My stomach is calling for sushi!” Kenji grumbled, glancing down at his belly.

“God’s Tiger!” Sakura said as she flicked her fingers.

Suddenly, a shikigami appeared in front of Sakura, startling Kenji. He instinctively drew his Shadowfang dagger, ready to defend himself. After a moment, he realized it was merely a shikigami—it resembled a fully grown tiger with white fur.

“It will help us find the soul.”

Shikigami are spiritual entities that can be summoned by practitioners of the shadow technique. Only those who have mastered this technique can summon a shikigami, and they must first tame these spirits to form a bond.

This process typically involves a series of challenges that demonstrate the summoner’s strength and intent. Once tamed, shikigami can assist their summoners in various tasks, including combat and reconnaissance, making them valuable allies in dangerous situations.

“Fool! Let’s go.” Sakura said, holding Kenji by his top and dragged him along with her into the building, the Shikigami followed closely behind them.

“Wait, can you cast a field?” Kenji asked, the soul might try to run away or even something even worse than that might happen. Sakura sighed, she simply raised her hands. Instantly, the dark field began to rise up to everywhere around the prison, street to about 1500 meters.

“Woah! So terrific! How did you do that?” Sakura ignored his second question as they entered entered into the front gate which was already opened.

…

Inside the deserted prison, an unsettling silence enveloped them, broken only by the echo of their footsteps. The walls were grimy and peeling, and rusted bars lined the windows with the cracked concrete floor. Few florescent bulbs were still on, creating light for them while some areas were dark, with broken fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

As Kenji and Sakura ventured deeper, a musty smell filled the air, mingling with the dampness that seeped from the walls. Broken furniture lay scattered about.

“Stay close to the Tiger,” Sakura instructed while Kenji sighed in weary and hunger.

The Tiger suddenly halted, it began turning sharply and darting down a side corridor, its paws were silent against the floor. Kenji and Sakura exchanged a glance before sprinting after it.

As they rounded a corner, the corridor opened into a large, dimly lit room filled with broken chains and signs of what might have been a communal area for the inmates. Deep scratches with blood stains marred the walls, as if something had desperately clawed at the surface.

The Tiger paused again, its gaze fixed on a shadowy corner. Kenji felt a chill run down his spine as an unsettling presence loomed closer.

When they turned around, the entrance they had used was gone. Suddenly, the ceiling began to stretch into the darkness above, transforming into an endless abyss. “A special cast again? Darn!” Kenji muttered, staring into the void.

“This one is quite large…” He paused, a realization hitting him. “No way! It can’t be… No, no. This wasn’t cast by a Grade 1 Exile soul, but rather a Grade 3 Radiant soul. It seems too large for an Exile soul; this is trouble!” Fear gripped them, and the two took a step back.

“What are we going to do? Gojin isn’t here to help us; we’re doomed,” Sakura exclaimed, gripping her hair tightly. There was no way they could survive against a Radiant soul. However, since they hadn’t encountered the soul yet, they decided to keep moving. If luck was on their side, they might find a way out of the cast.

‘Breaking News: Impossible percentage (78%)’

They held themselves tight and ventured deeper into the corridor, hoping the location wouldn’t change. But that prayer went unanswered.

In an instant, they found themselves in a large lobby with rusted structures, slightly brown, surrounded by prison cells. The room spanned about 2,000 square feet. Inside, a bleeding man leaned against the wall, clutching his open stomach. Blood pooled around him, and he was growing pale. Kenji and Sakura rushed to him, fear etched on their faces as they worried about his condition. He wore an orange prison uniform with black stripes on the legs.

Suddenly, the man’s head twisted grotesquely until it became disfigured, and he died, blood oozing from every opening on his face. The two gasped, retreating in terror. “What the heck is happening here?” Sakura furrowed her brow, scanning the surroundings for the source of the horror. Kenji instinctively readied his dagger.

A few minutes later, Sakura suddenly vanished. Kenji’s eyes began to tremble; the dagger wavered in his grip, fear gripping him once more. Then, a laughter echoed throughout the lobby.

In an instant, a monstrosity appeared beside him. It loomed as a hulking mass of dark, rotting flesh. Jagged limbs protruded at unnatural angles, each ending in razor-sharp claws. Its face was a nightmarish distortion, with hollow eyes that seemed to absorb light and a gaping maw filled with rows of jagged teeth, forever twisted in a silent scream.

Kenji quickly leaped backward, sliding across the cracked ground. His fear shifted to determination as he gritted his teeth and thrust the dagger forward.

“Aish, I’m damned!”

***

Meanwhile, Gojin sat in a small room with his legs crossed on a chair, scrolling through his phone. In front of him, a Grade 1 Exile soul quivered in fear, desperately trying to escape the room.

The aura radiating from Gojin was so intimidating that it couldn’t even muster the courage to attack. After a while, Gojin yawned and decided to end its gruesome existence. With a swift motion of his hand, the soul exploded into a shower of flesh and blood.

“Oh man, I need to grab a snack,” he muttered, glancing at the clock. “It’s 8 P.M., so most of the snack stalls should still be open. Why aren’t Sakura and Kenji done with the other site yet?”

He stood up from the chair and vanished, reappearing in an empty park. After walking a few meters, he arrived at a snack stall selling tofu. Gojin pulled out some cash and handed 10,000 yen to the woman behind the counter.

“Let’s see… how much tofu can I get with this?” he mused, calculating. “That should be enough for twenty pieces!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep